Container Carrier News

ClassNK has granted approval to the basic design drawings of a multi-purpose container carrier developed by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) utilizing 3D models.This marks the world's first ocean-going ship to complete the basic design process, including class approval, solely through 3D drawings from the conceptual design to the basic structural design, during the initial stages of ship construction, according to NYK Line and ClassNK.Traditionally, the sharing of design information among shipyards…

The navies of Britain, Finland and Estonia were practising subsea infrastructure protection in the Baltic Sea region on Monday together with the Finnish Border Guard, Finland's Defence Forces said in a statement.In early October a gas pipeline linking Estonia and Finland was damaged along with three telecommunications cables in the area, which is known for its dense seabed infrastructure.Finland and Estonia suspect the gas pipeline and cable incidents are linked, and believe a Hong Kong-flagged container carrier caused the damage by dragging its anchor along the seabed.

The Balticconnector gas pipeline between Finland and Estonia, which was damaged last month, will get a bigger northbound transmission capacity next year following repairs, Finnish operator Gasgrid said in a statement on Wednesday.The increase will come from an enhancement of the Latvia-Lithuania interconnection, which allows for higher gas volumes to be transported around the Finnish-Baltic region, it added.The pipeline will in the future get a base capacity of 70.5 gigawatt hours of gas per day in the direction from Estonia to Finland…

A Russian fibre optic cable under the Baltic Sea was damaged last month only 28 km (17 miles) from where a gas pipeline linking Finland and Estonia was damaged soon afterwards, Russian state company Rostelecom said on Tuesday.Finnish police believe damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline was caused by a Chinese container ship dragging its anchor along the seabed but have not concluded whether this was an accident or a deliberate act.Security of sub-sea cables and pipelines in the Baltic has become a top concern against the background of the Ukraine war…

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Tuesday that China was cooperating in Finland's investigation of the Hong Kong-flagged NewNew Polar Bear vessel's role in the Oct. 8 damage to the Balticconnector pipeline.Finnish police leading the criminal investigation have named the NewNew Polar Bear container carrier as the prime suspect in damaging the gas pipeline early on Oct. 8, saying it was too early to tell if this was an accident or a deliberate act.A large anchor, believed to belong to the NewNew Polar Bear…

The three incidents that resulted in damage to a gas pipeline and two telecom cables between Estonia, Finland and Sweden "are related", Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.Finnish police leading the pipeline investigation have named the Hong Kong-flagged container carrier NewNew Polar Bear as the prime suspect in damaging the Balticconnector Finland-Estonia gas pipeline early on Oct. 8.A large anchor was found near the pipeline, and the investigators believe the pipe was…

Israeli container carrier ZIM announced its first vessel fueled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) has set sail on its maiden voyage.The 15,000 TEU dual-fuel box ship Zim Sammy Ofer, built by South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, is the first of 10 vessel ordered in a long-term chartering agreement between ZIM and Seaspan Corporation.The Neo-Panamax vessel is 366-meters long with a 51-meter beam. The vessel has a max service speed of 22.5 knots, a dual-fuel main engine with output of 46…

Operating on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from day one in service, the MV George III, the first of Pasha Group’s two new ‘Ohana Class’, Jones Act-qualified containerships, features a state-of-the-art engine, an optimized hull form, and an underwater propulsion system with a high-efficiency rudder and propeller. George III is the first LNG-powered vessel to fuel on the West Coast and the first to serve Hawaii. The 774-ft. Jones Act vessel surpasses the International Maritime Organization (IMO) 2030 emission standards for ocean vessels.

While drama in the container shipping sector has calmed a bit, container carriers still wrestle with unexpected drops in demand. Peter Sand, Xeneta, discusses vessel capacity moves and their likely impact on rates, as well as the first containership sent to the ship scrap yard in more than 18 months.Q: Peter, the last time that we spoke, you were succinct in saying that this market is a mess, with spot rates plunging in what traditionally is the busiest shipping season in the US. Has that picture changed in the last few weeks?Peter Sand, XenetaHas it changed from being a mess? Not really.

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, said it has received an order for delivering container lashing systems for twelve 23,500+ TEU container vessels for Hapag-Lloyd. The vessels will be built at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea.The order was booked into Cargotec’s 2022 third quarter orders received. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered to the owner between the second quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2024.“Cargo system plays a very important role in the efficient operation of the container ship.

Swiss-based container group MSC has overtaken Denmark's Maersk as the world's biggest shipper, the company said, confirming data from intelligence provider Alphaliner.After taking delivery of several ships last year, MSC or Mediterranean Shipping Company has capacity to move the equivalent of 4,284 million twenty-foot containers, Alphaliner said. That compares with Maersk's 4,282 million.Both companies, which according to Alphaliner hold markets share of around 17%, said size was not the objective.Asked for comment…

When the global supply chain runs smoothly, it’s like a well-choreographed dance. Everything comes together elegantly and effortlessly. But when someone misses a step, the show can quickly turn into a disaster. And that’s what’s currently unfolding before our eyes, headline after headline.Those of us in the supply chain industry know it takes a Herculean effort to keep the wheels of commerce turning without so much as a squeak or rattle. And it’s going to take just that to get…

South Korea-based Techcross said it has entered into a contract with Singapore's largest container carrier Pacific International Lines (PIL) to supply ballast water management systems for 28 containerships in its fleetThe contract, secured by Techcross' Singapore office, entails sequential deliveries through 2024.PIL, one of Southeast Asia's largest shipowners with a fleet of around 100 vessels, is open to future possible opportunities to install Techcross ballast water management systems on other existing vessels in its fleet…

Hakone Maru, a container carrier formerly owned and operated by NYK, has been recognized by the Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE) as "Japan's first new container carrier that realized efficient maritime transportation."This honor is given to vessels that have historical, academic, and technical value, promote public understanding, and are seen as symbols of cultural heritage for future generations. Another NYK vessel, Hikawa Maru, a historic ocean liner permanently berthed as a museum ship in Yokohama…

Unable to get a slot on a container vessel, Lee Sang-hoon is considering using fishing trawlers docked for repair in the South Korean port of Busan to meet surging export orders for the car engine oil he sells to Russia."China is the black hole in this shipping crisis, all the carriers are headed there," said Lee, owner of Dongkwang International Co. in Busan which makes about 20 billion won ($17.60 million) in annual revenue."Those fishing boats out there could be an answer for us because we're already one month behind schedule.

The Suez Canal expects 140 ships to pass on Tuesday after the freeing of a container ship stranded for nearly a week allowed it to reopen, but experts warned that disruptions to global shipping and at ports could take months to resolve.The blockage threw global supply chains into disarray, threatening costly delays for firms already wrestling with COVID-19 restrictions, and nearly doubled rates for oil product tankers.Shipping convoys through the canal resumed on Monday evening…

Singapore-headquartered container carrier Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd. (ONE) said it has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Japan's Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. for the 15-year charter of six new ultra large containerships (ULCS). The vessels, with capacity greater than 24,000 TEU each, are said to be the world's largest.The newbuilds will be built by the consortium of compatriot shipyards Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Japan Marine United Corporation for planned delivery…

Chinese port workers have made progress to move a logjam of refrigerated containers that has disrupted supplies of fresh and frozen food and pushed up freight rates outside China amid the coronavirus outbreakFrench container carrier CMA CGM told customers on Friday that the reefer plug utilization has improved in Chinese ports, and almost all reefers diverted to other ports are in the process to be loaded back to their final destination.CMA CGM said it would cancel the port congestion…

Pursuant to direction from FMC Chairman Michael Khouri, the Federal Maritime Commission has issued letters to the three global carrier alliances (2M, THE, and OCEAN) requiring that certain carrier-specific trade data currently filed with the Commission quarterly, must now be submitted on a monthly basis.The Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis (BTA) has traditionally relied on a combination of individual vessel operator confidentially provided data and information from commercially available industry data to monitor and analyze container carrier freight rates and service market trends.

The widespread coronavirus outbreak has led the world's largest container carrier to suspend crew changes aboard its entire fleet of operated vessels until April 14, a Maersk spokesperson confirmed to MarineLink.The full statement from A.P. Moller - Maersk is below:With the continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the extraordinarily fast-paced closing of borders and cancellations of airline services, today (March 17, 2020) we have decided to suspend all crew changes for Maersk-operated container vessels effective immediately and for four weeks until April 14, 2020.

Classification society ABS said it has awarded South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) Approval in Principle (AIP) for crew accommodation and ventilation systems designed to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.The AIP, which is said to be an an industry first, is the product of a joint development project (JDP) between ABS and SHI that applied the principles described in the ABS Guide for Mitigation of Infectious Disease Transmission On Board Marine and Offshore Assets to a crude oil tanker…

German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd said on Tuesday its business in Asia was "overall stable," although the coronavirus outbreak had extended the traditionally slack period around China's Lunar New Year holiday.China's efforts to control the virus had extended the normal factory shutdowns for the New Year festivities to anywhere between Feb. 8 and Feb. 14, depending on the region, a spokesman for the world's fifth largest container carrier told Reuters.However, Hapag-Lloyd's fleet was operating largely as normal…

ABS joined forces with MAN Energy Solutions (MAN) and the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI) to develop an ammonia-fueled feeder vessel.The joint development project aims to produce designs for an ammonia-fueled Chittagongmax container carrier of 2700 TEU capacity.“Ammonia is an energy source with significant potential to help the industry meet IMO 2030 and 2050 emission targets but will require stringent new safety standards to be developed in order to support its adoption,” said Dr. Xiaozhi (Christina) Wang, ABS Vice President, Global Marine.“This innovative project is typical of how ABS is working with leading partners across the world to support the development of next generation fuel solutions for shipping…